Thread: Turning Physical Israel Upside Down In Isaiah 24: 1, Isaiah 29: 16 and In II Kings 21: 13
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Turning Physical Israel Upside Down In Isaiah 24: 1, Isaiah 29: 16 and In II Kings 21: 13
Posted : 11 Oct, 2013 03:00 PM
Turning Physical Israel Upside Down In Isaiah 24: 1, Isaiah 29: 16 and
In II Kings 21: 13
"Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and
turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants
thereof." Isaiah 24: 1
Isaiah 24: 1 is about physical Israel. One clue is that it says
The Lord makes the earth empty...turns it upside down and then
it says "...and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof." Scattereth is
Strong's number 6327, puwts,to dash in pieces, literally or figuratively,
dash, shake to pieces, cast abroad, disperse, drive, retire, spread
abroad."
And again, as usual, church Christians under the influence of John Darby,
C.I. Scofield, Lewis S. Chafer and many others like them, have difficulty
in understanding the metaphoric language of the Lord. Isaiah 24: 1-2 is not
talking about God literally scattering the people of the whole earth around the earth.
Scattering metaphorically means shaking and dashing to pieces physical Israel.
Turning the earth or physical Israel upside down certainly does not mean God will turn
the planet earth upside down. The literalists might think this is a pole shift. How could physical
Israel be literally turned upside down? Instead turning physical Israel upside down means the
same thing - metaphorically- as it does in II Kings 21: 13 and in Isaiah 29: 16. It means God promised that he was going to change physical Israel, as he says he can do in Jeremiah 18: 6, "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, the clay is in the potter's hand,
so are ye in mind hand, O house of Israel."
Those who claim physical Israel remains the chosen people will say God will not go back on his promises to Israel. But if you read those promises you find they were conditional.
"Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance." Isaiah 19: 25
"...for thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth." Deuteronomy 14: 2
"Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:" Exodus 19: 5
"And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:" Deuteronomy 28: 1
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee." Deuteronomy 28: 15
We see that the Old Covenant was conditional upon physical Israel being obedient to God. They were not obedient and were judged for it. God kept his promises to Israel, but he changed Israel, and those who claim physical Israel are still the chosen people have rejected that change, and in rejecting the change they have, in effect, given away their position, or birthright as did Esau.
Malachi Chapter 1 starts out like it is talking only about Esau and his descendants the Edomites. Malachi 1: 4 says Edom will build, that is try to get back the lost position or birthright, but that God will cast down what they build, and that they are a people against whom the Lord has indignation forever. But by Chapter Two it becomes clear that Malachi is no longer talking about Esau-Edom, but about physical Israel. Malachi 2: 11 says "Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god." Malachi 3: 2 goes on to say "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:" "He"changed physical Israel as the parable of Luke 13: 6-9, where the Father wanted to cut down the fig tree, representing physical Israel, but the Son, the dresser of the vineyard, asked the Father to let him give the fig tree new life, and then if it bears fruit that is good, but if not they will cut it down. It did bear fruit, as shown in Romans 11: 5, a remnant of physical Israel accepted Christ was changed in him and became the beginning of the spiritual house of I Peter 2: 5-9. In 70 A.D. the rest of the house of physical Israel was cut down by the Roman army
I have not noticed before the phrase in Isaiah 24: 1, "turnith it
upside down." This phrase is found in II Kings 21: 13, where the Lord
says he is going to stretch over Jerusalem the plummet line, and wipe
Jerusalem like wiping a dish, "AND TURNING IT UPSIDE DOWN."
The plummet line is in Amos 7: 7-8,and represents judgment by the
Lord. Here God says he will not pass by Israel any more, and repeats
it in Amos 8: 2.
Then Isaiah 29: 16 says "Surely your turning of things upside down
shall be esteemed as the potter's clay" which ties back to II Kings
21: 13, and goes on in Isaiah 29: 16 to say "for shall the potter say
of him that made it, He made me not?" which points to Jeremiah 18:
1-6, the parable of the potter, on the transformation of physical
Israel.
On Isaiah 29: 16, there are several recent translations that do not
have the same meaning that Isaiah 29: 16 has in the King James.
For example, the New King James Version for Isaiah 29: 16 says "Surely
you have things turned around!
Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay;" "Surely you have things
turned around" has a different meaning than "Surely your turning of
things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay."
And the New International Version for Isaiah 29: 16 says "You turn
things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the
clay." Again, this translation of the NIV does not clearly tie the
metaphor of turning things upside down to the parable of the potter in
Jeremiah who remakes the same flawed vessel - physical Israel - into a
Turning Physical Israel Upside Down In Isaiah 24: 1, Isaiah 29: 16 and In II Kings 21: 13
Posted : 15 Oct, 2013 06:40 PM
The world has hated "the Jews" because of their "chosen" status concerning Torah. "The Jews" are the only people in the world who are continuously forced to justify to others their existence as a nation and spiritual entity and to prove their land rights on Israel (what has also become known as Palestine). Any other nation, regardless of their short non-existent history and even genocidal past, do not have such obligations! Why aren't Israel-haters questioning the right of the USA, Germany, China, Japan, or any other country to exist?
Let's take an even deeper look at "the Jews"....
Jews have a unique status according to Scripture. They were chosen as the people who would hear and record the words of YHWH, through His prophets. In one form or another, these scriptures have influenced more than half of the world's population to abandon pagan worship. The Jews, in this regard, and in many others, have influenced the world more than any other group of people.
The Bible declared that YHWH's people would be scattered throughout the world (Deuteronomy 28:64), and that they would be a blessing to the world (Genesis 12:2-3). This scattering has enabled them to help reveal to the world the truth revealed in the scriptures, that there is one true Elohim, and only one!
YHWH warned that anyone who persecute the Jews will be punished. And indeed they have been. Among those who have persecuted "the Jews" and been punished for it were the great Assyrian Empire, the neo-Babylonian Empire, the Phoenician Empire, the Roman Empire, the powerful Nazi empire and the powerful Soviet Union. All of these empires have been destroyed. And yet, the Jews are still a nation. Why? Because YHWH made this promise to the Jews in Genesis 12:2-3 - "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." YHWH keeps His promises. And, the Jews are living proof of that.
"The Jews" are living proof that we can rely on the promises made by the G-d of the Bible. For instance, we were told the following:
�Israel would be a nation (1400 BC, 1948).
�Jerusalem and the Temple would be destroyed (70-135 AD).
�The Jews would be exiled (70-135 AD).
�Israel would become a wasteland (135-1900s).
�The Jews would be scattered worldwide (135-1900s).
�The Jews would be persecuted worldwide (135-present).
�The Jews would have a worldwide impact (135-present).
�Their identity as a group would be preserved (135-present).
�The Jews would return to their homeland (1900s, etc).
�The Jews would have Israel again as their own country (since 1948).
All of the above has happened. No one can dispute that. And "the Jews" are living proof that YHWH kept His promises.
When the Jews declared independence for Israel in May 1948, it was the first time in about 2900 years that Israel was both united and independent. Who has ever heard of such a thing - that a country could be reborn after its people had been scattered worldwide for a few thousand years? And who has ever heard of such a thing - that a country could be reborn in a single day? The new Israel was born in a single day, thus fulfilling prophecy.
After a worldwide movement called Zionism began in the 1800s, hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide began to return to their ancient homeland. Then, in May 1948, the Jews declared independence. On that same day, the United States and other countries acknowledged the sovereignty of Israel. And, Israel's sovereignty was acknowledged in a very different way by the countries surrounding Israel.
Within hours of the declaration of independence, Israel was attacked by the surrounding countries which had hoped to put an end to the newly reborn country. Those countries, combined, were at least 20 times larger than tiny Israel. And yet, tiny Israel prevailed in that war. Why? Because YHWH keeps His promises (see, for instance, Isaiah 66:7-8 and Leviticus 26:3-8). And the Jews are living proof of this. Israel is living proof of this!
And again - let's not forget that Y-shua - whom Christians call "Jesus" - was a Jew. So, how can anyone possibly say or think Jews are rejected and still call themselves followers of Y-shua?
